NJ Employers Must Now Provide Written Notice When Tracking Employees’ Vehicles
Feb 7, 2022 | Written by: | Share
On January 18, 2022, Governor Phil Murphy signed into law Assembly Bill No. 3950, which prohibits employers from utilizing a location tracking device in an employee's or company's vehicle without providing prior written notice to the employee. This law goes into effect on April 18, 2022. Employers who use tracking devices and who are subject to this new law must provide advance, written warnings to their current employees and to new employees when they are hired. This legislation applies to all employers operating in the State of New Jersey and their agents or representatives, with the exception of the Department of Corrections, State Parole Board, county correctional facilities, State and local law enforcement agencies, and public transportation systems.
Under this new law, employers who knowingly use a tracking device in a vehicle used by an employee without providing the required written notice to the employee will be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $1,000 for the first violation and not more than $2,500 for each subsequent violation. There is, however, an exception for private sector employers if the tracking device is used solely to document employee expense reimbursement. For example, an employer still has the right to install a mileage tracker on an employee's personal vehicle to log the distances travelled for business purposes (and without written notice) if this information is used solely for expense reimbursement purposes (and not for checking on or verifying the employee's whereabouts). Further, nothing in this law supersedes other government regulations for interstate commerce.
Employers often place tracking devices on vehicles used by their employees to ensure that their employees are where they are supposed to be during their working hours and that they are performing their duties as intended. The Legislature clearly recognizes that employers have a legitimate interest in knowing their employees’ whereabouts. However, employees also have privacy rights and the right to know what information about them their employers are reviewing and collecting. This new legislation serves as a compromise between the legitimate interests of both employers and employees. It allows the employers to track their employees while, at the same time, allowing the employees to make informed decisions as to whether they want to work for an employer who tracks their daily whereabouts.
It is recommended that New Jersey employers subjected to this new law update their employee handbooks to include this new policy information, and that they draft written notices to be provided to all of their current and new employees. It is further recommended that employees sign an acknowledgment of receipt of the policy with the notice, and that employers keep a record of this documentation in their employees' personnel files.
If you are an affected employer and you need assistance updating your employee handbooks to reflect this new policy, or drafting the written notices that must be provided to your current and new employees, please contact our office. Likewise, if you are an employee with a tracked vehicle and, as of April 18, 2022, your employer has not provided you with the required written notice as explained above, please feel free to reach out to our office to discuss your options.
Sharon M. Flynn, Esq. is a partner with Gebhardt & Kiefer, PC, and practices primarily in the areas of general litigation, employment law, and insurance defense.
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Any statements made herein are solely for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon or construed as legal advice.